5 Jun
1997
5 Jun
'97
4:05 p.m.
fyi, posted on comp.os.cpm ...
- glenn
A friend in a bit of a time bind will probably be sending a PDP 11/34
to the landfill very soon. If you want it, and probably a half dozen
other assorted racks of minicomputers plus hundreds of reels of 1/2"
tape, but NO S-100 stuff (you can probably guess who got THAT!) e-mail
immediately.......
stuff is located in Tucson, very close to I-10
sorry, no one available to pack it, but Amtrak does stop here.......
and they shi[p stuff pretty cheap......
bill_h(a)azstarnet.com
5 Jun
5 Jun
9:52 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
Hi, I just found out about this listserver when a post was made to
comp.os.cpm telling about it. Since I have been looking for a while for
this type of group, I am very much looking forward to participating. I
have lost track of how many computers I have but my best guess is
somewhere around 300. I've been collecting for about 10 years or so and
I am still adding computers at the rate of about one per month. As a
confirmed scrounger, I was lucky enough to run into a couple of things
some people here might find useful (not for sale, but for info only if I
can help.) Santa Barbara is where both the Lobo Drives Max80 and the
Polymorphic computers were made. I have a friend who had a friend who
was storing the remains of the Polymorphic documentation, parts, etc.
My friend acquired it and I now have it. Basically there are EPROMs,
masters of the printed documentation, engineering drawings, so if anyone
out there needs info, I may be able to provide it. Also, a local
company was a distributor for Vector Graphic Computers and software. I
found out they were getting rid of all the documentation, etc. into a
dumpster two days after the event. They gave me permission to scrounge
their dumpster ... and I did! I have what I *think* is most of the
hardware documentation for the Vector Graphic Computers model 3, MZ, and
Vector 4. Some of you may remember Pickles & Trout from CP/M days.
They also were a Santa Barbara company and a friend of mine was one of
the co-founders. I am not familiar with most of what they did, but he
would most likely be willing to answer question about their products
(this is me volunteering him, not him!)
I am always looking for documentation for some of the computers I have.
One is a Jonos, and I have no other information and I would like to know
a bit more about it. Another is a a neat portable (probably
non-working) with nothing but the word "Chisholm" on it. It looks like
a prototype judging by the number of mods to the circuit board. Any
info would be much appreciated.
10:36 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
On Thu, 5 Jun 1997, Marvin wrote:
Hi, I just found out about this listserver when a post
was made to
comp.os.cpm telling about it. Since I have been looking for a while for
this type of group, I am very much looking forward to participating. I
have lost track of how many computers I have but my best guess is
somewhere around 300. I've been collecting for about 10 years or so and
I am still adding computers at the rate of about one per month. As a
Ok, you have just put us all to eternal shame. Do you have a list of all
you've got? cuz I'm entirely interested to know. Or perhaps just an
excerpt of your more rare systems. Where the hell do you store it all?
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
6 Jun
6 Jun
6:45 a.m.
New subject: Misc.
Ok, you have just put us all to eternal shame. Do you
have a list of all
you've got? cuz I'm entirely interested to know. Or perhaps just an
excerpt of your more rare systems. Where the hell do you store it all?
As to where I store it ... all over! I tend to forget what I have but I
the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP 11/05. Of course the Mits
Altair and Imsai. As to being rare, I don't have a good handle on that
part. The collection includes the early Pets with the Chicklet keyboard,
Atari, Heath Data Systems, Northstar, Altos, CompuPro, Wang, DEC, Timex,
Commodore, Lobo, Polymorphic, Vector Graphic, Intel, Corona and Cordata
(the company that took over Corona,) Morrow, Ohio Scientific, some Apple
stuff, Tandy and Radio Shack, Sol, Cromemco, Xerox, NCC, Televideo, NCR,
Kaypro, Osbourne, IBM, Sanyo, Compaq, Jonos, Eagle, and probably a bunch
more I can't recall off hand.
When I first started collecting, the idea was to save these things from
the dumpster. As time went on, a lot of people kept their eyes open
for me and were willing to give me the stuff rather than have to junk it.
I just picked up a mint Xerox 820 last weekend from a swapmeet WITH docs
(!!!) from someone who just wanted it gone. Someone in town dumpstered a
bunch of stuff that was picked up by a friend. In the process of cleaning
his place, he gave it to me and it was mostly HD related and included
several HD testers (no docs <sigh>) and a bunch of non-working HDs.
Another thing I am looking for are the docs and schematics for the Zenith
H-67 Hard Disk sub-system used with the H-89. The H-67 has a bad power
supply board, and without the schematics, it is a bit hard to
troubleshoot.
I do have duplicate hardware manuals for some of the Vector Graphic
computers and would be willing to trade for other documentation I don't
have.
Also FWIW, I don't sell these computers although I would be willing to
trade some of the duplicates for computers I don't have.
7:51 a.m.
New subject: Misc.
On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Marvin Johnston wrote:
Also FWIW, I don't sell these computers although I
would be willing to
trade some of the duplicates for computers I don't have.
You're joking, right?
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
10:09 a.m.
New subject: Misc.
Sam Ismail wrote:
On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Marvin Johnston wrote:
No. At this point, I am interested in preserving the history primarily
of microcomuters. I have been approached a number of times by people
wanting to buy a given computer, but again, selling is not my objective.
Also FWIW, I don't sell these computers
although I would be willing to
trade some of the duplicates for computers I don't have.
You're joking, right? 
2:01 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Marvin wrote:
Sam Ismail wrote:
I think Sam's comment was aimed more at the point of *for computers I
don't have* not that you don't sell them 8-)
I guess a good starting point would be - What DON'T you have that you
want?
BC
On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Marvin Johnston wrote:
No. At this point, I am interested in preserving the history primarily
of microcomuters. I have been approached a number of times by people
wanting to buy a given computer, but again, selling is not my objective. Also FWIW, I don't sell these computers
although I would be willing to
trade some of the duplicates for computers I don't have.
You're joking, right?
2:20 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Marvin wrote:
No. At this point, I am interested in preserving the history primarily
of microcomuters. I have been approached a number of times by people
wanting to buy a given computer, but again, selling is not my objective.
Well, I was joking, referring to your statement "trade some of the
duplicates for computers I don't have".
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Unless you're talking about homebrews and obscure prototypes that barely
made it past the implementation phase, you'll be hard pressed to sqeeze a
system out of anyone that you don't have! :)
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Also FWIW, I don't sell these computers although I
would be willing to
trade some of the duplicates for computers I don't have.
You're joking, right?
8:26 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
Sam Ismail wrote:
> Well, I was joking, referring to your
statement "trade some of the
> duplicates for computers I don't have".
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Unless you're talking about homebrews
and obscure prototypes that barely
> made it past the implementation phase, you'll be hard pressed to sqeeze a
> system out of anyone that you don't have! :)
Ah so, that one went right over my head, sorry about that one :). As
far as systems I don't have, there are a LOT I am still looking for. To
name just a few, the Aim 64, Kim, SWTP 6800 computer, Acorns (I am not
familar with them,) and quite a few others with the main interest in the
70's computers. I am really impressed with "The Big List of Classic
Computers" and it has made me much more aware of how small the
collection really is compared to what was produced.
7 Jun
7 Jun
1:32 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
As to where I store it ... all over! I tend to forget
what I have but I
the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP 11/05. Of course the Mits
Altair and Imsai. As to being rare, I don't have a good handle on that
part. The collection includes the early Pets with the Chicklet keyboard,
Atari, Heath Data Systems, Northstar, Altos, CompuPro, Wang, DEC, Timex,
Commodore, Lobo, Polymorphic, Vector Graphic, Intel, Corona and Cordata
(the company that took over Corona,) Morrow, Ohio Scientific, some Apple
stuff, Tandy and Radio Shack, Sol, Cromemco, Xerox, NCC, Televideo, NCR,
Kaypro, Osbourne, IBM, Sanyo, Compaq, Jonos, Eagle, and probably a bunch
more I can't recall off hand.
All I can say is - when I started putting together the List of Classic
Computers I never thought anyone would collect them _all_!! ;)
Bill
----------------------------------------------------
Bill Whitson - Classic Computers ListOp
bill(a)booster.u.washinton.edu or bcw(a)u.washington.edu
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~bcw
2:30 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
Bill Whitson wrote:
I was reading a copy of the Z-Letter a few years ago and read where he
had somewhere around 400 computers. I figured I had better get busy if
I was to have any chance of catching him :).
As to where I store it ... all over! I tend to
forget what I have but I
the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP 11/05. Of course the Mits
Altair and Imsai. As to being rare, I don't have a good handle on that
part. The collection includes the early Pets with the Chicklet keyboard,
Atari, Heath Data Systems, Northstar, Altos, CompuPro, Wang, DEC, Timex,
Commodore, Lobo, Polymorphic, Vector Graphic, Intel, Corona and Cordata
(the company that took over Corona,) Morrow, Ohio Scientific, some Apple
stuff, Tandy and Radio Shack, Sol, Cromemco, Xerox, NCC, Televideo, NCR,
Kaypro, Osbourne, IBM, Sanyo, Compaq, Jonos, Eagle, and probably a bunch
more I can't recall off hand.
All I can say is - when I started putting together the List of Classic
Computers I never thought anyone would collect them _all_!! ;)
12 Jun
12 Jun
8:10 p.m.
New subject: IBM Transporter
In looking at Bill's collection on the Web, I noticed a reference to the
IBM Transporter. I found a card that had those words on it and am
curious what this thing is, what it does, is software required, etc.
Thanks.
8 Jun
8 Jun
6:13 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
> Ok, you have just put us all to eternal shame. Do you have a list of all
> you've got? cuz I'm entirely interested to know. Or perhaps just an
> excerpt of your more rare systems. Where the hell do you store it all?
Wow.... This lot totally dwarfs my little collection (I think I have about
150 machines, including calculators, but excluding interesting
peripherals), and I thought I was doing pretty well!
As to where I store it ... all over! I tend to forget what I have but I
Ditto. Storage is a _BIG_ problem, and one which I guess all people on
this list have to deal with. A mad friend of mine is a calculator
collector, and he's fond of pointing out in his lectures that his
collection will fit under his bed, while mine (pointing to ard on the
front row :-)) will barely fit in the house
the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP 11/05.
Of course the Mits
Do you have any other minis? I find them a lot more interesting than
micros, as I think I've mentioned before, since you can actually
understand how the CPU works at gate level.
Altair and Imsai. As to being rare, I don't have
a good handle on that
part. The collection includes the early Pets with the Chicklet keyboard,
Atari, Heath Data Systems, Northstar, Altos, CompuPro, Wang, DEC, Timex,
Commodore, Lobo, Polymorphic, Vector Graphic, Intel, Corona and Cordata
(the company that took over Corona,) Morrow, Ohio Scientific, some Apple
stuff, Tandy and Radio Shack, Sol, Cromemco, Xerox, NCC, Televideo, NCR,
Kaypro, Osbourne, IBM, Sanyo, Compaq, Jonos, Eagle, and probably a bunch
more I can't recall off hand.
A partial list of manufacturers in my collection :
Acorn, Apple, Commodore, Atari, Tandy, IBM, DEC, 3RCC/PERQ systems, ICL,
HH, Panasonic, Research Machines, Oric, HP, Northstar, I2S, Intel, FTS,
Exidy, Xerox/Diablo, Tektronix, Olivetti, CCS, Sharp, Torch, Philips,
Epson, Ramtek, Grinnell, Sun, Apollo, WCW(no complete machines - yet!),
AES, Zilog, Sage, Sinclair, Sanyo, Tatung, SGS, CASU, Jupiter Cantab,
Grundy, Genrad/Futuredata, NEC, PPL, Evans and Sutherland, Sanders, Facit,
Cipher, Teletype, Novus, Casio, etc.
When I first started collecting, the idea was to save these things from
the dumpster. As time went on, a lot of people kept their eyes open
I think most people start like that. You suddenly realise that a lot of
computer history is going to be lost for ever unless somebody does
something about it - and you're that somebody.
for me and were willing to give me the stuff rather
than have to junk it.
A tip : Get known where you work (and at church, clubs, etc) as somebody
who wants old computer and electronic 'junk'. It's amazing what you get
given - several times people have said 'Oh, we're about to throw this out,
do you want it' where 'this' is a complete computer system with all
manuals.
Another thing I am looking for are the docs and
schematics for the Zenith
H-67 Hard Disk sub-system used with the H-89. The H-67 has a bad power
supply board, and without the schematics, it is a bit hard to
troubleshoot.
Power supplies are either linear or switchers. Linears are next-to-trivial
to sort out (at least if they use any of the standard regulator IC's), and
switching units can be repaired. There are a number of standard IC's, and
if any of those are used, you can generally guess the configuration in
about 5 minutes with a bit of practice.
SMPS's that either use standard linear IC's (723's, 555's, etc) or which
are entirely discrete transistors are more of a pain, but again, there are
circuits that turn up again and again. I've found that reading a handful
of service manuals (especially TV or monitor manuals) will often turn up a
circuit that's similar to yours.
If there are any IC's in the PSU, post the numbers, and I'll see if I can
guess what's going on.
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
8:50 p.m.
New subject: Misc.
A.R. Duell wrote:
150 computers is doing VERY well, I just have a lot of friends who found
a suc, er, someone to take the stuff so they don't have to throw it away
:). Yesterday, another friend gave me a C64, disk drive, and color
monitor. I started collecting sometime about 1986 and was fortunate in
having quite a few friends in the computer business as well as space to
store the stuff. Additionally, I help a local private school put on a
"Computer Rummage Sale" and end up with a lot of stuff they couldn't
sell. Hope I haven't given you the impression I am a junk collector :).
On a more serious note, there is also a local Classic Computer club with
a small (a dozen or so) but devoted membership who are extremely
knowledgeable about a wide range of the older computers. From that
group, I was given a couple of Jonos computers, TRS Model 4, a Smoke
Signal Broadcasting BFD-16, an Altos system, and a number of other
computers. I also have three other friends who, like myself, are
interested in putting together a computer museum. The biggest problem
is financing such a venture since to do a professional job, we would
most likely need at least 5000 sq ft of building.
I have a bit of DEC stuff including a Minc (I think that is the correct
spelling) that I have no idea what it was used for, a couple of 11/23s,
and at least one 11/34. There is also a Kennedy Disk Unit, a 470 MB
Hard Disk (probably for the Dec stuff) that is a rack mount, and a bunch
of spare M and K series interface boards. One thing I am *really* glad
now that I didn't get rid of are the engineering drawings and
maintenance manuals for the PDP 8i, PDP 16, PDP 11/05, PDP 11/45, and
some of the perpherals (RK05 disk unit and ???? memory). I spent about
6 weeks or so up at DEC in the early 70's and was able to get
documentation for the things I was working on.
If it was just that, it would be easy, but I think the HD and Floppy
controllers are built onto the same board. As I recall, it is not a
switcher but rather a linear type supply. I started into it a few years
ago and decided at that time to wait until schematics were available.
> Ok, you have just put us all to eternal shame. Do you have a list of all
> you've got? cuz I'm entirely interested to know. Or perhaps just an
> excerpt of your more rare systems. Where the hell do you store it all?
Wow.... This lot totally dwarfs my little collection (I think I have about
150 machines, including calculators, but excluding interesting
peripherals), and I thought I was doing pretty well! the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP
11/05. Of course the Mits
Do you have any other minis? I find them a lot more interesting than
micros, as I think I've mentioned before, since you can actually
understand how the CPU works at gate level.
A tip : Get known where you work (and at church,
clubs, etc) as somebody
who wants old computer and electronic 'junk'. It's amazing what you get
given - several times people have said 'Oh, we're about to throw this out,
do you want it' where 'this' is a complete computer system with all
manuals.
I am "known" :). That is the way I have gotten most of the stuff I
have. Occassionally, I'll actually buy something (like the mint Xerox
820-II) but I try to avoid that if possible. I tend to overdo whatever
I get into and I still have a 10 or so coin ops that I am starting to
try and get rid of. At one time, I had about 50 of them and I wasn't
even in the business! When people had machines that didn't work, I
ended up with them. Of course, being able to repair them made things
easier :).
Another thing
I am looking for are the docs and schematics for the Zenith
H-67 Hard Disk sub-system used with the H-89. The H-67 has a bad power
supply board, and without the schematics, it is a bit hard to
troubleshoot.
Power supplies are either linear or switchers. Linears are next-to-trivial
to sort out (at least if they use any of the standard regulator IC's), and
switching units can be repaired.
9 Jun
9 Jun
4:52 a.m.
New subject: Misc.
A.R. Duell wrote:
150 computers is doing VERY well, I just have a lot of friends who found
Yeah, but I have been doing this seriously for just over 11 years (started
24th May 1986), and had a few machines before that. Needless to say I'm
not going to stop collecting, hacking and enjoying these machines just
because somebody else has more CPUs that I do.
> Ok, you have just put us all to eternal shame. Do you have a list of all
> you've got? cuz I'm entirely interested to know. Or perhaps just an
> excerpt of your more rare systems. Where the hell do you store it all?
Wow.... This lot totally dwarfs my little collection (I think I have about
150 machines, including calculators, but excluding interesting
peripherals), and I thought I was doing pretty well! a suc, er, someone to take the stuff so they don't
have to throw it away
:-). 'Unfortunately' most of my friends are also computer collectors,
which means that I don't get offered fun toys that they happen to have. Of
course the toys _are_ being preserved and used, which is a good thing.
:). Yesterday, another friend gave me a C64, disk
drive, and color
monitor. I started collecting sometime about 1986 and was fortunate in
having quite a few friends in the computer business as well as space to
store the stuff. Additionally, I help a local private school put on a
"Computer Rummage Sale" and end up with a lot of stuff they couldn't
sell. Hope I haven't given you the impression I am a junk collector :).
What's wrong with being a 'junk collector'? One of my first actions on
getting this job was finding out what the policy was on raiding the skip
(dumpster) (It was a 'free for all' - grab what you want..) and getting
known by all those responsible for throwing stuff out...
On a more serious note, there is also a local Classic
Computer club with
a small (a dozen or so) but devoted membership who are extremely
knowledgeable about a wide range of the older computers. From that
group, I was given a couple of Jonos computers, TRS Model 4, a Smoke
Signal Broadcasting BFD-16, an Altos system, and a number of other
computers. I also have three other friends who, like myself, are
interested in putting together a computer museum. The biggest problem
is financing such a venture since to do a professional job, we would
most likely need at least 5000 sq ft of building.
Yep, that's something I ought to think of doing. Finding a building is a
big problem, and finding the money to buy it is even worse, but at least I
have the exhibits :-)
the earliest is probably the PDP 8i, and PDP
11/05. Of course the Mits
Do you have any other minis? I find them a lot more interesting than
micros, as I think I've mentioned before, since you can actually
understand how the CPU works at gate level.
and at least one 11/34. There is also a Kennedy Disk
Unit, a 470 MB
Hard Disk (probably for the Dec stuff) that is a rack mount, and a bunch
of spare M and K series interface boards. One thing I am *really* glad
Never had any K series. Got a large box (well, multiple boxes...) of
R,S,B,G,A,M,W boards, though. I've also got the test boards, extenders,
etc for repairing these machines (I got invited to clear a room that was
used for 'self-maintenance' on PDP11's, and got a lot of fun toys as a
result...)
now that I didn't get rid of are the engineering
drawings and
maintenance manuals for the PDP 8i, PDP 16, PDP 11/05, PDP 11/45, and
Those manuals are _very_ interesting, and _nothing_ would separate me from
my pile of them
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
9902
days inactive
9910
days old
14 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
ard12＠eng.cam.ac.uk -
bill＠booster.bothell.washington.edu -
danjo＠xnet.com -
dastar＠crl.com -
groberts＠mitre.org -
marvin＠rain.org